Baptismal identity
Matthew 3:13-17
January 10, 2021 anno Domini
Baptism identifies Jesus. There is no doubt who Jesus is after His baptism. Heaven opened. The Holy Spirit descended like a dove. The Father in heaven proclaimed, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” Jesus of Nazareth is the Son of God.
There is nothing more important than your identity. That’s why you have all those passwords and why you can’t access your own money without recalling the street you grew up on, the name of your favorite pet, and the make of your first car.
Think of all the new identities we have recently learned, “Black Lives Matter, LGBTQ, Never-Trumpers, MAGA people.” We are bombarded with information about a person’s identity instead of their character or qualifications. Pete Buttigieg was the first openly gay man to run for president. Kamala Harris is the first African-American woman to be vice-president. The riots in Minneapolis resulted from a black man who died while being subdued by a white police officer.
Identity, as it is currently preached, is a weapon used to bludgeon and rob your neighbor. Making mention that a person is black is a shot against all white people. Pointing out someone’s sexual identity is meant to make normal people (when I say normal I mean people who understand human sexuality scientifically and biologically), it is meant to make normal people ashamed of believing in male and female and marriage and children. When we hear that the first Somalian has done this or the first Muslim has done that, the point is not to unite us, but to divide us into them and us. Realize that I have no right to speak about any of this because I have the worst identity there is – a white, middle class, male. On top of that I believe in the offensive and oppressive institution of marriage between one man and one woman. If you really want to hate me I also believe that the husband is the head of the household. It isn’t hard to imagine all the damage I have done with my identity.
Do you see the problem with identity? It’s racist. It’s divisive. It is man-made and anything that man makes serves man. it centers my identity on me over and against you and that is not Christian. It is not godly. It is idolatry because it worships me.
The baptism of our Lord proclaims His identity and it also teaches us of our identity.
John the Baptist did not think Jesus should be baptized. Why? Because Jesus wasn’t a sinner. Baptism is for sinners. That is what John preached in the wilderness. “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” The people who heard and believed, “were baptized by him in the river Jordan confessing their sins.” Here is confession number one about Jesus’ identity. He has no sin because He was conceived by the Holy Spirit of the Virgin Mary which seems to indicate that we fathers pass sin on to our children.
John hinders Jesus because John knows baptism does something. Baptism delivers God’s forgiveness to sinners. Jesus needs no forgiveness because He has no sin. Baptizing Jesus would be like telling a person without cancer be start chemotherapy or a person with no arthritis to get a knee replacement. There is no need.
It is Jesus’ answer to John that reveals His identity and our identity. “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” “John, let’s get this done. We need to do this to make things right again between God and man.” Jesus is the Son of God who has come to fulfill righteousness because you and I have no righteousness. We have no standing before God. We have nothing to boast about before our neighbor. Righteousness would not need to be filled full if we were not empty. Isaiah the prophet writes, “We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment.” David writes in Psalm 14 “They have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one.” Saint Paul writes in Romans, “All have turned aside; together they have become worthless.” (Rom 3:12) “They” in those verses is not those people out there. “They” is you. “They” is me. I have turned aside. I am corrupt. You are not good. Not one of you. How’s that for an identity booster?
Imagine how different our reaction and response would be if the headlines were true? An unrighteous man died while being arrested by a sinful police officer. A group of self-serving protesters stormed the White house, while self-serving congressmen huddled in their chambers and self-serving capital police failed to protect the capital. That takes the punch out of the headlines doesn’t it? None is righteous, no, not one.
Except the One whose baptism we celebrate today. Jesus is baptized by John because “It is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Jesus’ baptism is going to fulfill all righteousness. God’s Son has come into the world to save sinners by being the sinner. He goes where sinners go, so into the waters of baptism He goes. His Father is well pleased with His Son because His Son is doing what He was sent to do – fulfill all righteousness.
Jesus fulfills all righteousness by going where sinners go. He goes to suffering. He goes to hell. He goes to death, but He does not go alone. He takes you with Him. In identifying with us, in being made man, the Son of God unites Himself to all humanity. He identifies with you and takes your unrighteousness into Himself. He takes your identity sins, of thinking you’re better than others. He takes your pride and envy and boasting. He takes the sins of meth heads and sinful cops, of self-serving politicians and violent mobs. He even takes the sins of self-righteous central Minnesotans. All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (including you), and all are justified (declared righteous) by God’s grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.
What then becomes of our identity? You have nothing to boast about, except Christ. If you want to talk about yourself, confess your sins. If you want to boast, boast of Christ. You are baptized into the death and resurrection of Jesus. You no longer live, but Christ lives in you.
The Devil loves man made identities. Identity is one of his favorite weapons to destroy you. He will either beat you up with shame and guilt over being white or straight or privileged or He will fill you with pride that you are better than your neighbor. You will either despair of your identity and be proud. Your baptism into Christ is the antidote for identity’s poison. There is no need to despair because you have been declared righteous in Christ – He fulfilled all righteousness by taking your sin away. There is no place for pride in the Christian because we have a borrowed righteousness. Christ gives us His righteousness. Nothing in my hand I bring, simply to the Christ I cling.
Fight against worldly identity especially as it divides us and distorts God’s Word. Every human on earth has these two identities – created in the image of God and one for whom Christ died. Stand fast in your baptismal identity. You are a Christian, a sinner declared righteous by the death and resurrection of Christ. You are not better than anyone else. You are more forgiven than anyone else. By your baptism God says of you what He said of Jesus, “This is my beloved son, with whom I am well pleased.” That is your identity in the name of Jesus. Amen.